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Takahashi Ai
Takahasi Ai (高橋 愛, born September 14, 1986) is a Japanese pop singer associated with Hello! Project. She is best known as the current leader of Morning Musume and as a former member of its popular subgroup, Minimoni. She joined Morning Musume in 2001 through the fifth generation auditions. As of 2009, Takahashi has become the leader of Hello! Project. Discography Singles These are solo releases by Takahashi Ai, for group releases see Morning Musume Discography. Biography Takahashi Ai joined Morning Musume in 2001 as part of the group's fifth generation along with Ogawa Makoto, Konno Asami, and Niigaki Risa. Her debut with the group was on their single "Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~". The first album she featured on was the group's fourth album, titled 4th Ikimasshoi!. It is currently their second highest selling album, with a total of 515,400 copies sold. In 2002, Takahashi entered into her first Hello! Project Shuffle Unit, Happy 7, as one of the lead singers on the group's single. In 2003, Takahashi replaced Yaguchi Mari in the Morning Musume spinoff group MiniMoni, first appearing in the group's movie Mini Moni ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken! and its accompanying soundtrack. Her best-known nickname amongst non-Japanese fans, "Takitty", was derived from the cat suit (complete with tail) which she wears in the movie. Later in 2003, she was part of the Morning Musume splinter group Morning Musume Sakura Gumi, which performed mainly slower numbers on the group's two EPs, "Hare Ame Nochi Suki" and "Sakura Mankai", and the shuffle group 7Air, an R&B-inspired septet. Takahashi's vocals became more prominent on the second and final Mini Moni album, Mini Moni Songs 2 (2004), as well as on Morning Musume's singles from their Spring 2004 release "Roman ~My Dear Boy~" onward. She also had a duet with Tsunku on the cover version of Tsunku and Ayumi Hamasaki's duet "Love ~since 1999~" on his solo album Take1. In 2005, Morning Musume's first single release of the year, "The Manpower!!!", featured Takahashi in a prominent co-lead-vocal role, a role she has retained on subsequent singles since. In the summer of that year, she became part of the 2005 shuffle group Elegies. In 2006, Takahashi played the lead role, Sapphire, in the musical "Ribbon no Kishi The Musical" which was a collaboration work of Takarazuka Revue (a famous Japanese all-female musical group) and Hello! Project. The musical was based on Tezuka Osamu's manga and also starred v-u-den, Tsuji Nozomi, Matsuura Aya, and Abe Natsumi, as well as Marcia and Kaoru Ebira of the Takarazuka Revue. Soon thereafter, Takahashi released her first and only solo single to date, "Yume Kara Samete". Following then-leader Yoshizawa Hitomi graduation from Morning Musume on May 6, 2007, the current sub-leader, Fujimoto Miki ascended to the leader position, with Takahashi becoming the new sub-leader of the group. However, on June 1, 2007, after Fujimoto's resignation, Takahashi took over as the new leader. (Takahashi is also captain of the Hello! Project kickball team, Metro Rabbits H.P..) In 2008 Takahashi became a member of Hello Project's new unit High-King, a group created to promote Morning Musume's upcoming Cinderella the Musical, in which Takahashi will play the main character. It was announced in July 2008, that Takahashi and fellow Morning Musume member Niigaki Risa would play the 80s J-Pop duo Pink Lady in the TV Drama Hitmaker Aku Yuu Monogatari. As of September 2008, she and Niigaki Risa have the second longest tenures of any member, with only Iida Kaori remaining in the group longer. She is also one of only four members to remain in the group for seven years or more (the others being Iida, Yoshizawa and Niigaki). Profile * Name: Takahashi Ai (高橋愛) * Nickname: Ai-chan, Lovely, Takitty, Tettekete * Birth date: September 14, 1986 * Birthplace: Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, Japan * Blood type: A * Height: 153.3 cm * Hobbies: Watching plays, ballet * Specialty: Flipping her eyelids, bridge * Favorite food: Sauce katsudon, omelette rice * Disliked food: Mont blanc, eggplant, pineapple, musubi, perilla leaves * Favorite color: Black, white, pink * Favorite word: "Tomodachi" (友達 - "Friend") * Favorite season: Autumn * Favorite flowers: Roses * Favorite song: Tsumetai Umi / Start in My Life by Kuraki Mai * Hello! Project Groups: ** Morning Musume (2001–) ** High-King (2008) * Subgroups: ** Minimoni (2003–2004) ** Morning Musume Sakura Gumi (2003–2004) * Concert Units: ** Hello! Project Akagumi (2005) ** Wonderful Hearts (2006–) * Shuffle Units: ** 2002: Happy 7 ** 2003: 7AIR ** 2004: H.P. All Stars ** 2005: Elegies * Other: ** POCKY GIRLS (2002) ** Metro Rabbits H.P. (2006–) Appearances Photobooks DVDs Acts Television dramas Television shows Radio External Links * Official Hello! Project profile